Zeno Clash is an action/fighting game set in a punk fantasy world. The game is played from a first person perspective and the combat is generally up close and brutal. Experience a deep storyline set in a fantastic world.

Reviews

"... It feels refreshingly original and completely compelling."

8.4 of 10 —IGN

About This Game

Zeno Clash is an action/fighting game set in a punk fantasy world. The game is played from a first person perspective and the combat is generally up close and brutal.
Experience a deep storyline set in a fantastic world. Play the role of Ghat, a man banished by his own brothers and forced to begin a desperate journey past the forbidden desert and to the end of the world.
Nominated in 'Excellence in Visual Art' at the Independent Games Festival, the original visuals, which make full use of the Source engine features, breathe new air in the fantasy game genre. The new close combat mechanics are also a deviation from traditional action in the first-person genre that will feel fresh for new and veteran players.

Engaging melee combat in first person The new melee combat system allows players to perform a variety of movements like deflect & elude combos, knockback finisher punches and punishing grab attacks. Learn new attacks as the game progresses and confronts you with more formidable foes.

Fantastic visuals powered by the Source engine Players will be immersed in a fantastic world, beautiful and disturbing at the same time. The unprecedented art style brings a fresh new approach to the first person genre. The surreal environments and characters will keep players wanting to discover more.

Survival mode challenges Jump right into the action in engaging unlockable "tower challenges". The player must overcome enemy waves to progress through the tower levels. The game will rate the player in different categories like speed and performance. A leaderboards system will rank you against your friends, so the challenge never ends.

Deep storyline Players will play the role of Ghat; the son of a impressive hermaphrodite creature called Father-Mother, whose children form the most powerful clan in the city of Halstedom. Ghat must escape from his family and start an incredible journey with his female companion Deadra, who will aid him in the dangerous lands of Zenozoik.

Bizarre weapons The game features an unusual arsenal of eccentric weapons that are built from scraps and junk. Hammers and clubs will be the most effective when fighting heavy characters that can only be brought down with extreme force.

The Zeno Clash Model Pack for Garry's Mod The pack includes 70 models with the characters and creatures to be used with the popular Source engine mod Garry's Mod. "This is a great addition to the existing library of assets and we really hope the fans will enjoy the content and start developing their own Zeno Clash inspired videos, screens or machinima." says Andres Bordeu from ACE Team. Zeno Clash owners can download the free DLC from the Tools tab in their Steam client.

+ ai attacks clever+ picks up weapons from the ground+ evades from attacks- bosses often to cumbersome and therefore easy

Weapons & Extras:

+ weapons necessary to tough opponents to crack+ unusual design- weak sounds- in the fight against multiple opponents often not helpful

Story:

- tangled story with no clear connections- relationship between Gath and Dadrea unclear

Game Size:

- solo playtime around 6 hours- low replay value- no multiplayer mode

Multiplayer: No Multiplayer

Actually one should Zeno Clash love alone for his bizarre scenario with all the crazy characters and scenes. Dialogues and story were confused can hardly be. Need an example? "Erminia has peed on himself and is starved anonymous"Zeno Clash is a double-edged sword. On the one hand there are the really successful combat system, good AI and the wonderfully innovative design. But instead of learning to know the world, I stand by two meters in the next Arena, supported by a story that raises more questions than it answers.

Score: 68 / 100

gamestar.de

Sorry for my bad english.Thanks for reading! If you Like my Review, give me a Thumbs up in Steam.Your help is greatly appreciated :)

+ Combat system is incredibly simple and satisfying; everything connects and feels right, making this the game's greatest strength+ Character designs are creative and interesting; just the right mixture of weird and entertaining+ Strange weapon designs; very original in every respect (if you've seen the 1999 film ExistenZ, imagine the chicken bone gun, and populate an entire game-world with the same concept)+ Control scheme is efficient, and every button-press felt natural and satisfying+ Strange, yet appropriate soundtrack; did well to set the mood and keep you feeling mildly unsettled+ Atmospheric elements worked well with the environmental set-pieces to make for an absolutely bizarre world; I must say that this level of creativity, while unconventional, was a breath of fresh air+ Challenging, adaptive AI; enemies really keep you on your toes in the best possible way (save for a few, minor shortcomings - some of the bosses are also a bit too easy to cheese)

- Terrible voice-acting- Stiff, clumsy animations- Frustrating and unnecessary lock-on system- Save for a (rather dull) Challenge Mode, and the ability to unlock cheat codes for the campaign, this title has virtually no replay value- Largely weak sound effects- Poorly explained, muddled plot with little character development and too many answers left out (topped off with a mediocre cliffhanger)

Zeno Clash is a first-person melee fighting game developed by ACE Team using Valve's famous Source Engine and released on Steam back in 2009.

The story begins with Ghat, the game's protagonist, waking up after being knocked out by an explosion which killed a creature known as Father-Mother who is the leader of a very powerful mafia like family in the small town of Halstedom. The protagonist Ghat is presumably one of Father-Mother's children who turned rogue and ran away from home and is now being pursued by his 'brothers and sisters' (enforcers of Father-Mother). Join him and his companion Deadra in a quest to discover the truth of about Ghat's past and trace back the series of events that led to the explosion.

PROS:

+ Excellent use of the Source Engine+ Good fisticuffs (melee) combat mechanic+ Surreal world and environment+ Complex but enjoyable story+ Interesting character, item and monster designs+ Item variety+ Good sound effects and voice acting+ The Devs were probably high during this game's production+ Challenging difficulties

CONS:

- Extremely short (4-5 hours game time in my last playthrough)- Almost no replay value (except for the tower challenge mode)- Difficult learning curve- Story is a bit difficult to follow- Short linear levels (In my opinion, linear games are fine as long as the levels are lengthy and enjoyable)- No character progression (no armors, level ups or item upgrades)

CONCLUSION:

GOOD GAME. Zeno Clash sports a very unique art style that places you in a very surreal world with a strange geography and is populated by strange creatures all brought to life by the developer's clever use of Valve's Source Engine. The combat mechanics is fun albeit a little frustrating at times and hard to learn however, the items does give variety to the player's fighting style. The game should provide you with at least 4-5 hours of game time with its campaign with an added 'Tower Challenge' if the player wants to test his skills.

I RECOMMEND this game mostly for the experience but the short game time could be an issue, still though, Zeno Clash is a fun game to play. I can't honestly cannot recommend it at full price (even if it is only $10 or your regional equivalent), so getting it on a sale is probably a better idea.

A unique, bizzare first-person puncher, set in a strange world that I would describe as having a "Stonepunk" feel to it. This is, quite possibly, the first truly satisfying first-person melee combat game I have ever played.

Strong fantasy appeal. The world and story is of new mythology. Fighting system is challenging, fun, annoying, and very immersive. For the most part the game is moderate difficulty from beginning to end. Some of the fights can be easily beaten once you find a weakness in the A.I. or level design. The game favors freaks who love originality. The short length was perfect for the story. Because it is a short game I would reccomend getting it on sale. Overall a very enjoyable experience. I have gained a number of concepts and ideas that will occupy my daydreams for the next month or so. I will be getting Zeno Clash 2 next time it is on sale.

[If you are having problems with the fighting system then wait a few months and come back to it. Start the game over and try again. Worked for me.]

I'm trying to think of the best way to advise somebody just now picking this game up, whether by random choice or under pressure from their friends. Of course, the latter will probably result in disappointment. Don't let the buzzwords (quirky, awkward, weird, crazy) fool you. The game is (though I loath to use this term) "quirky," to be sure, the story and voice work have an awkward, disjointed feel, as does the game's art style. Trust me when I say this is all intentional on the part of the devs, and isn't just a pointless dive at becoming the strangest thing since Vangers.

If you have ever been told this game is "deep," it's because of the revelations of the sequel, Zeno Clash 2. Anyone suggesting you play the first part of a series because of how much THEY enjoyed the revelations of the second part is like someone watching Return of the King, going bananas over the charge of the Rohirim and suggesting you pick up the extended edition of Fellowship when you have no experience with LOTR whatsoever. You will not enjoy it. PLAY THIS GAME WITHOUT ANY EXPECTATIONS WHATSOEVER. Ignore the exaltations of your peers.

As for how "quirky" and "awkward" this game is, like I said, it's intentional. There's a suitable comparison in the 1984 movie Scanners. The protagonist is a man who has been mute his entire life, and suddenly regains the power of speech. It's not very well elaborated upon in the film, but his social skills and speech patterns are completely out of whack because of this: he has to develope these skills almost from the ground up. The people who inhabit the world of Zeno Clash have a similar problem, which is elaborated upon in the sequel; again, perhaps explaining why people think this game is so "deep."

Gameplay is fairly simple and quite challenging. First person hand-to-hand is a very peculiar form of gameplay, particularly when it's as complicated as it is in both Zeno Clash 1 and 2. Though there is a limited variety of enemies, they all have unique fighting styles which you will have to adapt to in order to succeed. Enemies will fake you out, surprise you with the reach of their attacks, suddenly overwhelm you with a flurry of blows; to this day, whenever I pick up Zeno Clash I'm regularly intimidated and surprised by the combat, in spite of having played through the game multiple times. It's no surprise that some players are frustrated by how unpredictable it is and even reject the game entirely, dismissing it as quirky nonsense.

Trust me, just have patience and work on your timing. Pick some good battle music and play the tower challenges. You'll probably find it as enjoyable and satisfying as I do.

Fun but definitely one of the more surreal type of game that makes you wonder how someone came up with any of this because none of it makes sense. But it for sure takes a different take on video gaming.

I am a big fan of this series. I got Zeno Clash when it launched on the Xbox 360 and played through all of it there first. I have got to say its a great story even if it does feel a little minimalist. The characters and environments are just lovely! I probably wont go through and try to beat the game again here on Steam but I want you to know that if you haven't played through this game, you definitely should if you are a fan of adventure games, Indie games, or just want a good thought provoking story!

Would you like a game that's really simple yet solid, like the beat'em ups from the days of yore (but in first person view)? What about an art style that looks like the lovechild of Roger Dean and David Cronenberg on acid? A soundtrack with a wild sense of urgency? Do you want to feel like Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken, punching people into the air, while the story discreetly discusses Sartrean Existentialism and Hobbesian societal notions? Do you want to shoot multibreasted rat people with a fishgun? What about birdmen? Then this game is for you!!!!!

Both a solid first-person beat 'em up and containing some of the most fantastically bizarre and cool artwork akin to something like Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Zeno Clash is a pretty short game but well worth it for the fun gameplay, excellent character designs and environments and unique plotline.

I’m surprised by how well this game holds up. I bought it over five years ago, and only just now got around to playing it. It’s low budget, but uses the art direction and technology to mask that as much as possible. For what the game sets out to do, you almost couldn’t do it any better.

Every level in the game tries to do something unique, which made the experience very interesting. I expected to play a first person fighting game, and that’s largely what I got. But I didn’t imagine just how much variation you could pack in to that formula. It's great.